Enugu State Government on Friday sealed the state headquarters of Pastor Lazarus Muoka’s The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Movement.
The Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, which sealed the building, said the decision to seal the church was to forestall likely casualty from the imminent collapse of the structure as it was built on a waterway and has been ravaged by flood.
Executive Chairman of ECTDA, Dr. Josef Onoh, said it was to save lives and property and avoid a recurrence of building collapse in the state.
Onoh revealed that ECDTA has equally directed the leadership of the church to immediately liaise with the state chapter of the Nigerian Society of Engineers to assess the level of damage done by the flood and recommend appropriate engineering measures to be applied to fortify the building.
According to him, there has been a public outcry, especially from residents living at the bank of Ekulu River, GRA, adjacent to the church, over the danger posed by the worship centre, which was built on the waterway on their property.
He said: “The ECTDA had served ‘Stop-work’ and ‘Remove’ notices on the ongoing construction work at the premises of the church, which were ignored completely until the recent havoc that wrecked the foundation of the church building to the point of imminent collapse.”
Onoh expressed concern over the spate of construction works on waterways and without building approvals and the imminent danger.
He appealed to residents to always adhere strictly to rules and regulations guiding structural development in the state in order to save lives and avert damage to property.
